Nexus
Nexus is the main protagonist of Shadows Jubilee. An atypical Shrouder, Nexus' behavior tends to annoy most of his cohorts. He appears more aloof and apathetic while also heavily contemplative. He is rather forgetful but not to the point of comedy. Nexus is friends with Xikur though he isn't entirely sure why. He is about 17 or 18 at the start of Shadows Jubilee. Unlike Xikur, Nexus seems to have many friends among the Shrouders. Story Nexus is a member of an elite organization amid the Shrouders. His title is Quartus Nexus. He is one of thirteen members who were chosen for promotion during the Great Abandonment in which many Shrouders fled out into the wilds rather than remain cooped up in the stronghold. The thirteen were chosen both for their might and for the fact they chose to stay. At the outset of the Eventide Chronicle referred to as Shadows Jubilee, Nexus is sent to Solaris to visit its Capital and the Sept of Aesar wherein Jeriko hopes to form a treaty with the Acolytes in earning Rasandiel's favor. Nexus' first mission is to negotiate a treaty with both the aggressively militant Knights and the warily diplomatic Acolytes. Though he is intended to carry out this mission alone, the enthusiastic Sjaxum chooses to tag along. It is Sjaxum who urges Nexus to confront the Acolytes first as their diplomatic practices would make them easier to deal with. On their way to the Sept of Aesar which straddles the border twixt Lunaria and Solaris, they are met by two aggressive Acolytes, Izzikiel and Gavael. They defeat them and force them to act as an escort back to the chapel. At the chapel, Cardinal Rasandiel Gaignun agrees to a meeting alone with Nexus. During their conversation, Rasandiel spins a great deal of double-talk to stumble Nexus as well as to cause him to doubt the Shrouders and their leader. Rasandiel does not seem entirely opposed to the proposition of a treaty. The first part of his mission seemingly accomplished, Nexus travels with Sjaxum further into Solaris to meet the dogmatic leader of the Knights. Archbishop Amistha is not as receptive as Rasandiel and has his Knights attack and capture the pair. The two are held prisoner until they are rescued by Xikur, Nadir of the Thirteenth Night, who had been shadowing them. Amistha's Order are dedicated foremost to the destruction of the Conclave and the end of Soul Corruption in all its forms going to extremes to accomplish this goal. With the Order's curious acquisition of a powerful series of advanced weaponry, the Conclave feels the need for allies for perhaps the first time. Background Jeriko tells a tale of an heroic albeit ultimately futile defense of Dienara wielding what could only be described as a sword of pure light, Nexus was actually the source of the chaos which erupted upon his awakening the Sword of Darkness Lacerier which drew to it those created by Soulstorm's influence. Said influence is Jeriko's scapegoat to reason how Nexus's memories have been altered. In reality, Nexus's own trauma had caused him to block a large part of his past from memory. Jeriko convinces Nexus he can unlock his dormant memories by obtaining the Sword of Light which is now in the hands of self-styled Archbishop Amistha, sending him and Schilanox on a mission to the Knights' Palace. Nexus serves Jeriko's Conclave as its chief scout and recruiter. As the group attains its funds primarily through mercenary work, they are known to be rather self-serving. However, there are exceptions as a few members have occasionally done charity work. Nexus's priority in the field is to survey and detect candidates for indoctrination: former Soul Jars and other Soul Corrupted humans, and anathema capable of following orders, thereafter coercing them to take up residence within one of the Conclave's three hubs, these being the Citadel of Dominic, fallen king of Lunaria; the Dark Pillar, Aeon's Unending Road; and Jeriko's Domicile, a labyrinthine acropolis established within the multilayered depths which comprise the Gate of Tartarus, the spherical prison of the Demon of Riene whose impact created the Phantom Deep crater decades earlier. Other responsibilities falling within the radius of Nexus's attention include protecting people from and otherwise eliminating the threat of anathema for which the sudden increase in activity is owed partially to the dismantling of the Solaran Guard. While in Lunaria what remains of Dominic's armies became Shrouders in the Conclave, the scattered remnants of the Guard have been slowly consolidated into the newly established Knights of the Order led by the religious zealot Archbishop Amistha. As such, competition in this field of work has been steadily on the rise. Personality Despite coming off as indifferent, Nexus is actually very thoughtful and empathetic. He is polite to those whose reputation demands respect, compassionate to those who are weaker than him, and doesn't believe in killing his enemies. Relationships Nexus is good friends with Xikur and Sjaxem and seems to be a target of Anxalia's flirtatious nature. He befriends the Acolyte Rachael Lasan and enters into a one-sided rivalry and uneasy alliance with its resident hero, Michael. Although Nexus' real father is absent at the time of Shadows Jubilee, Nexus finds surrogates in the leader of the Shrouders as well as in Rasandiel Gaignun. Abilities Nexus has a talent for reasoning which makes him ideal for investigations and he is typically sent out on such errands by proxied request of Lunarians. As he doesn't possess strong social skills, he is amazed when Lord Jeriko selects him to take the proposal of treaty to the Acolytes and the Knights. Appearance Nexus is approximately 5'6" with brown hair just above shoulder-length and brown eyes. His black attire include a zipper vest under a double-strapped short-sleeved jacket with a stiff collar and an insignia on the back shared by Xikur. The insignia's meaning has yet to be defined. His jacket splits into "tails" which hang past his knees. He also wears loose pants and a pair of knee-high boots. Nexus wears a single fingerless black glove on his left hand and a long sleeve and full glove on his right. Weapon Nexus' orange and black blade, the Higure, is split in color from blade tip to hilt. The hand guard is composed of a ring with three prongs on the blade side and a pair of hollow polygons opposite. Within the ring is a crescent moon. The blade starts narrow and grows wider near the tip before narrowing again. Nexus' brass and silver blade has a hilt identical to the Higure's with a similarly designed hand guard. The crescent moon is absent and there are metal wings where the blade begins. The blade begins to widen at half-way and returns to a point. There is a blue tear-drop opal near this point. Nexus' black blade resembles a stream of smoke. In the hand guard is the crescent moon from the Higure. The blade is larger being twice the size of the silver blade. Archetype Sage Due to his amnesia, Nexus' only goal is to uncover the truth of his past and his relationships. While he is not eager to carry out Jeriko's orders, he adheres in the hope the places he visits and the people he meets will somehow spark a glimmer of recognition so that his lost memories may return. Exported Character Nexus has much in common with Roxas from Kingdom Hearts, down to the fact he controls swords of light (similar to the Oathkeeper) and darkness (similar to the Oblivion). Trivia *Nexus means "connection" from Latin. *The crest on his back is the head of a dragon, the sigil of the D'raka, and denotes his relation to the Soroval clan, having been formally adopted by Reiko as a brother. Creation Nexus was conceived as Nexas the Twilight Tracer, a character created for a Kingdom Hearts fan-fiction involving its Nobody faction the Organization XIII. Its creator nexas-kun was adamant the character's title remain unchanged though was more malleable about his origins. The series creator lived up to his expectation that the character be featured as the focus of a story. See Also *Sen Kepler Category:Characters Category:Main Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Protagonists Category:Hero Category:Solaran Category:Shrouders